You’ll come away from this Biography in Three Acts with a deep sense of loss, and a twinge of anger at the talented but troubled Chris Farley, who rocketed to fame on Saturday Night Live, then did a nose-dive and died at 33 (like his hero John Belushi) from too much booze, too many drugs, and too much damned wretched excess.

From boyhood on, Farley played the same role: the fat kid who would do anything for a laugh. As friends tell it, he was always the guy we saw on SNL: insecure but outrageous, doing pratfalls and spit takes or splitting his pants to get a giggle from his pals. And it worked: he was a popular kid in grade school and high school, landed at Chicago’s Second City shortly thereafter, then attracted the attention of SNL’s Lorne Michaels, who brought him to New York. In his third episode of the show, Farley performed the infamous Chippendales skit with Patrick Swayze, and a star was born.

Memories from friends like David Spade, Chris Rock and Tim Meadows add to the delight and frustration of reading Farley’s story. Each one participated in interventions for the star, whose use of drugs and alcohol exploded with his success. Farley’s brothers and his priest, Father Matt Foley (whose name Farley borrowed for his “motivational speaker” character) say he manipulated and “complied” his way through rehab, lying to others and to himself about the depth of his disease.

Lorne Michaels once threatened Chris Farley with banishment from SNL, swearing he would never witness the self-destruction of another cast member. But Farley, heralded by so many in this account for his great humanity, “angelic” qualities and rare spirit, could not or would not reverse his downward spiral.

This is a wonderful portrait. But you can’t help but be a little mad at the guy who made it a posthumous one.

By Marjorie Preston

Marjorie is Managing Editor of Casino Connection Atlantic City.

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